If you have no dinner plans for Halloween...

You might want to print out this coupon and plan to go to Chili's on Sunday (after 3 pm). Kids can get a free meal with any regular entree.

And oh, I forgot to mention - cropchocolate.com is having their first online crop during the weekend of November 6th and 7th. All you need to participate is a cropcholate.com account and valid email address. Come join the fun!

Halfway there...

Whew! We hosted Daddy Dude's work function here last night and I'm happy to say that the downstairs part of our house is pretty darn clean. The upstairs, however... has been undergoing massive re-organization for quite some time. My deadline is the middle of November, before my brother and his family come down for Thanksgiving. There will be a lot of little kids running around the house so everything had better be in its proper place (and not in anyone's running path!). And what needs to be organized? Oh, just my rubber stamps, tons of books (a new batch every week from the library's used bookstore!), and things the girls are *FINALLY* letting go of.

On the bright side, we learned yesterday that there was an unexpected benefit of making the soccer banner. We used the PVC pipes (from the frame) and swiffers to clean up the cobwebs in the deepest and darkest corners of our house. Yay! It's an event that doesn't take place very often (I'm short, I never look up!) but yes, Daddy Dude was able to reach the corners of the 18-feet ceilings - without a ladder. Cool!

Enabler alert!

Joann.com is offering some shipping deals this week - the first one is a great deal. Don't forget Ebates!
1. FREE SHIPPING (no min purchase!) ECD301 (expires 10/28/10)
2. $5 flat rate shipping (no min purchase) EQW302 (expires 10/29/10)
3. 40% off one regular-priced item EED302 (expires 10/29/10)

Also, here's a new Fresh & Easy printable coupon - $10 off $50 purchase.

Sketch Mania...

I'm starting to panic about Christmas cards and the Christmas gift packs I usually make for Daddy Dude's clinic! Agh! Where does the time go?

I managed to get a couple of Sketch Mania challenges done over the past few days...

Here's my layout based on Sketch Mania #13 (one of two). Everything is from Echo Park's Summertime collection (except the black ink!).


And here is my layout based on Sketch Mania #14 (patterned papers - Making Memories, diecut title - Quickutz).

The race card and disease - BMI for Asians

This weekend, there was an article in USA Today's Weekend that cited Asian Americans are at 2x higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than Caucasians. My interest was peaked by their Asian-American specific BMI calculator. If you're not happy with your BMI under a "regular" table - you're NOT going to like this one! Here's how you can check to see if you're at risk.

Tidbit #1 - Free download of Holidays 2009 (Scrapbook Trends) here. You will probably have to register your email address (I already had an account with them, so I'm not sure).

Tidbit #2 - Did you know that Rubio's has a Beach Club? It's our new favorite place to eat - even Marika loves it! So I went online and signed us up - I got an email for a free taco and thus, a reason to go back sooner than later. =)

Hope everybody's week is starting off well! Daddy Dude is hosting a work party here on Wednesday, so it's time to frantically clean. =)

Are you a clutterer?

The lady who owned my previous favorite scrapbooking store (she went out of business) recommended the Unclutterer Blog. It's interesting to look at, but today, they posted about an up-and-coming designer who has developed a line of products designed to hide everyday and private things. You can view the short video clip here. Some of the ideas are ingenious!

I like organizing and buying organization products. Of course, though, when you change products, you're left with the old stuff. What do you do with it? I put it in my hall closet, which is leading to more problems, I'm afraid.

It's now beyond time for me to organize that hall closet. I can't find my fall decorations (they are in there somewhere) and basically, I can't find it because there are 3 huge Christmas presents (unwrapped - which is why they're hiding in there - I can't believe the girls never open that closet!) right smack in the middle of the way. Plus, I've also noticed that Daddy Dude likes to stick stuff in the closet when he can't figure out where else to put it.

Well, I'll just have to do it. It's hard to believe that in another few weeks, it'll be time to put up the Christmas decorations. Where does the time go???

Goooaaaaal #3 and a "Thank You" to Michelle

She's on fire, ladies and gentlemen! Marika scored her third goal today! She was in fine form, charging after the ball up and down the field. Mika also had a good game - she actually did run faster AND dribbled up the field more, before passing the ball. We played a team coached by one of my soccer teammates - and it was a very exciting game, ending in a 2-2 tie (although, the other team accidentally scored our second goal. The girl was so upset, she cried for a long time, poor kid!).

Here's Marika making a dramatic throw-in... =) I tell you, it is so fun to watch little kids play soccer...!

And thank you to my friend, Michelle, for recommending The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. She'd recommended it back in August, but I finally sat down to read it (I have piles and piles of books I want to read - thus, the delay). It was an EXCELLENT read - such wonderful character development and I love historical fiction. I'm eager to read more of her books!

Some of you may be interested in checking out this blog I recently discovered - A Year of Slow Cooking: A New Year's Resolution to Use the Slow Cooker Every Day in 2008. I only tried one recipe so far here, but I do plan to explore it more.

Today, I finally realized what I could get Mika for Christmas - something that she'd really enjoy - the High School Musical soundtracks! I already ordered HSM1 and HSM2 on Ebay (I'll get HSM3 at B&N)! Some of you are aware that the girls listen to the "Grease" soundtrack over and over (and over) in the car. Mika loves the HSM movies and at least we'd have a rotation of CDs to listen to in the car. The musical next on our list to watch is "Mamma Mia". I wonder if she'll like that one or not...